Facebook Messenger,WhatsApp,Instagram all linking up?

WhatApp and Instagram are both owned by Facebook, but up till now have been run as seperate companies. One thing that they all have in common is that they have messaging services for their members. Well, it now seems that that the Facebook management are considering linking all three together.

Why is that important to know?

There are, in fact, big differences in the privacy conditions of these three services.

WhatApp has been running with encryption for a number of years, and this means that any messages are kept very private and are not scanned for advertising opportunities or data collections. This has made it very difficult for Facebook to monetize the app, and make any profit from it. Encryption and privacy was one of the main principles of its founders and the fact that they have both recently left the company is not coincidental.

Facebook Messenger has had many privacy issues since the very beginning, and you can be certain that all messages are electronically scanned, and are not kept confidential, yes, even private messages (PM).

Instagram also has privacy issues, as the largely young members are discovering. Messages and pictures are stored on Facebook servers long after they have been deleted.

So what are the alternatives?

You can change to that old favourite Viber, but as it is a loss making service who knows how long it will remain online. It is fairly private at the moment.

Duo by Google is an excellent system that offers free video or audio calling via the internet to both Android and Apple Iphone users. They will soon have a desktop version too.

Skype is still around with Microsoft trying to revive the previously popular system. This is claiming to be private and works on pretty well all devices.

Facetime still only works on Apple devices which eliminates the majority of mobile phones and PC's. Apple have not spent any effort to update this app because it is not a profit center. This should mean that it retains its privacy as they haven't monetized it,yet.

In general, we live in a world where we are less able to guard or privacy, and any communication by the internet is vulnerable to privacy issues. You should never send passwords,bank details or private pictures by any of these apps, or email.

Any questions? Feel free to contact me on: leslie@helpdesk50plus.com or call 0545 746 990.

Enjoy ! Leslie